CLEVELAND — Guard Coby White had his customary pregame warmup — a few floaters, a bit of spot-up shooting, then some catch-and-shoots — getting into a lather in a T-shirt and shorts Saturday.
Then came the reality check: It was his only activity of the night.
White (strained right calf) has yet to play this season, but going through pregame warmups in Milwaukee and Cleveland and being scheduled for a full-contact practice at some point during the Bulls’ three days off later this week are promising signs that a return is imminent.
And the Bulls’ organization believes his reincorporation will be seamless.
Coach Billy Donovan actually was asked if White’s return could somehow mess up the rhythm of the Bulls, who’ve gotten off to such a stellar start.
“I feel pretty good about him coming back,” Donovan said. “He’s always been a team guy.
‘‘The rhythm for him individually, he’s going to work through that, and in time, it will get better, but in terms of him seamlessly coming back, I don’t worry about the chemistry at all, not with him. He plays the right way. Being around these guys, his IQ, his years in the league, I think he’ll know how to come back and integrate himself.”
The way his teammates see it, the sooner he returns, the better.
The Bulls’ deep roster allows Donovan to send waves of scorers at opponents at a high tempo. It’s a style that suits White, who had a career-best 20.4 scoring average last season.
Once White gets his minutes and conditioning up and becomes a fixture again, he’ll stretch the bench out and give Donovan another weapon.
White already is familiar with the personnel and offensive mentality, which is a bonus.
“We saw that at the end of last season,” guard Kevin Huerter said. “Our style of play is very similar to what it was when I got here [after the] deadline, obviously, and Coby was the engine for a lot of the stuff we were doing.
‘‘We’re all really excited to get him back, and we don’t expect too much of our identity and how we’re trying to play to change at all.”
The other guy
White wasn’t the only Bull getting closer to making his regular-season debut.
Reserve center Zach Collins (left hand) was scheduled for a CT scan this week, which should give the Bulls a clearer timetable for his return.
Donovan said Collins had been getting some running in and shooting with his right hand for weeks but was in a holding pattern with everything else. That could be changing.
“He’s still not in a position to pass or catch with that hand, but I think if he gets a good CT scan, and it shows healing, there would be progression for him,” Donovan said.
Free Ayo!
Reserve guard Ayo Dosunmu (left quadriceps) played Saturday on a 24-minute restriction again, but that’s about to end.
The Bulls were playing their first back-to-back games of the season, so the medical staff wanted to ease him through the two games.
He’s expected to be at a full workload Monday against the Spurs.